Tesla Model S catches fire after battery puncture, Musk responds

A Tesla Model S caught fire on the highway recently after its bottom-mounted battery compartment was struck by a piece of metal. That piece of metal punched a three-inch hole through quarter-inch armor plating, impaling the car with a "peak force on the order of 25 tons" according to company CEO Elon Musk's post on the Tesla blog. Even after firefighters punctured the battery's protective cover to extinguish the fire, it never reached the passenger compartment. For his part, Musk was quick to note how low the fire ratio is in his EVs compared to traditional autos; one for every 100 million miles driven in a Tesla, while one gas-powered vehicle catches fire for every 20 million miles traveled. There's even an email thread between the affected owner and Tesla's VP of sales and service at the source, too. Spoiler alert: The company offered the owner a white loaner model for the interim.